Baroque / Rococo

The Baroque is a cultural movement in European art history that had its origins in Rome around 1600. Its appeal turned consciously from the witty intellectual qualities of Mannerist art of the 16th century, and substituted visceral appeal directly to the senses. It employed iconography that was direct, simple, obvious, theatrical, rather than the arcane programs, often worked up by bookish humanists and patrons rather than by the artists themselves, which were characteristic of the urbane coterie arts of mannerism. Baroque art drew on certain broad and heroic tendencies in Annibale Caracci and his circle, and found inspiration in other artists like Correggio and Caravaggio, nowadays sometimes termed 'proto-Baroque'. Germinal ideas of the Baroque can be found in Michelangelo.

Art historians, often Protestant ones, have traditionally emphasized that the Baroque period falls in a time in which the Roman Catholic Church had to react against the many revolutionary cultural movements that produced a new science and new forms of religion (Reformation).It has been said that the monumental Baroque is a style that could give the Papacy, like secular absolute monarchies, a formal imposing way of expression that could restore its prestige, at the point of becoming somehow symbolic of the Counter-Reformation. Effectively, it was successfully developed in Rome, where Baroque architecture widely renewed the central areas with perhaps the most important urbanistic addition (or, more properly, revision). But many other examples are found in other European towns (and in the Spanish Americas). [Source: Wikipedia]
Château de Versailles
Château de Versailles. The official homepage of the palace of Versailles offers a brief view into the day of King Louis XIV.
Modell of the baroque imperial palace Schönbrunn
Hofburg
Park of the imperial palace Schönbrunn
Imperial palace Schönbrunn
Hofburg
Fontana di Trevi
Vittorio Emanuele II Memorial
Statue in the palace gardens of Herrenhausen
Baroque Fireworks in the gardens of Herrenhausen
Water fountain in the palace gardens of Herrenhausen (it is not easy to hold your hand completely still if the camera needs about two seconds to expose the picture). The entire park in Hannover is illuminated by hundreds of lights by night.
Baroque festival on the Mainau Island
The small Schönbusch Palace lies in the centre of the large Schönbusch Park. From the balcony of the palace you can see Johannisburg Castle and the city centre of Aschaffenburg in the distant.
Red Bridge in Schönbusch Park on the old country road to Darmstadt
Schönbusch Park
Look-out on a small man-made hill nearby the lake in Schönbusch Park
Look-out on a small man-made hill nearby the lake in Schönbusch Park
Schönbusch Palace
Temple of Friendship in Schönbusch Park
Temple of Friendship in Schönbusch Park
Schönbusch Palace
Schönbusch Palace
Schönbusch Palace
Schönbusch Park
Small concert hall in Schönbusch Park
The present cathedral building was erected between 1755-1767
Abbey of St. Gall
Abbey of St. Gall
Abbey of St. Gall
Abbey of St. Gall
Abbey of St. Gall
Abbey of St. Gall
Abbey of St. Gall
Abbey of St. Gall
Abbey of St. Gall
Philippsruhe Palace Gardens
Main gate of the Philippsruhe Palace Gardens
Top of the main gate to Philippsruhe Palace Gardens
Castle of the Teutonic Order and church St. Marien
Castle of the Teutonic Order
The Benedictine Abbey of Einsiedeln is a highlight of Swiss Baroque art
Benedictine Abbey of Einsiedeln
Benedictine Abbey of Einsiedeln
Main portal of the baroque Benedictine Abbey of Einsiedeln, goal for many pilgrims in Switzerland
Main portal of the baroque Benedictine Abbey of Einsiedeln, goal for many pilgrims in Switzerland
Historic buildings in the city of Maria Einsiedeln
Main portal of the baroque Benedictine Abbey of Einsiedeln, goal for many pilgrims in Switzerland
Courtyard of Schloss Ludwigsburg
 
The long gallery of ancestral portraits in Schloss Ludwigsburg
The baroque theatre of Ludwigsburg Palace
 
Baroque pleasure and hunting palace Favorite
Baroque pleasure and hunting palace Favorite
Cour Carrée of the Palais-Royal Musée du Louvre. The large glass pyramid in the middle of the Cour Napoleon can be seen through the gates.
Palais-Royal Musée du Louvre
Palais-Royal Musée du Louvre
Sculpture in one of the two glass-roofed courtyards of the northern wing of the Louvre
Musée du Louvre
The grand cupola over the entrance of the Neumünster church in Würzburg
The Würzburger Residenz (= Würzburg Residence) is one of the chief works of the Baroque period. Prince Bishop Johann Philipp Franz von Schönborn commissioned the residence to 33 year old architect Balthasar Neumann in 1720. The building was finished in 1744.
By night the Musée du Louvre is illuminated by thousands of small lights hidden in niches and protrusions of the baroque facade the magnificent museum.
The southern wing of the palace houses the palace church. Architect Balthasar Neumann wanted to preserve his idea of harmony in the baroque facade. Therefore he kept the arrangement of windows and used columns in the interior of the church to detract the viewer’s eye from the architectural pattern. Therefore you would not guess that the small entrance with the short flight of stairs on the very right of this wing is the entrance to the palace church.  
By night the Musée du Louvre is illuminated by thousands of small lights hidden in niches and protrusions of the baroque facade the magnificent
The southern wing of the Würzburg Residenz houses the palace church. Architect Balthasar Neumann wanted to preserve his idea of harmony in the baroque facade. Therefore he kept the arrangement of windows and used columns in the interior of the church to detract the viewer’s eye from the architectural pattern. The exorbitant baroque decoration of the palace church of the Würzburg Residence makes it almost impossible to distinguish between downside and upside.
Catholic parish church of St. Justinus in Alzenau
The exorbitant baroque decoration of the palace church of the Würzburg Residence makes it almost impossible to distinguish between downside and upside
Palace church of the Würzburg Residence
Gardens of the Würzburg Residence
Gardens of the Würzburg Residence
The Würzburger Residenz (= Würzburg Residence) is one of the chief works of the Baroque period. Prince Bishop Johann Philipp Franz von Schönborn commissioned the residence to 33 year old architect Balthasar Neumann in 1720. The building was finished in 1744.
The famous Crystal Staircase in the heart of the Dolmabahçe Palace (Dolmabahçe Sarayı) has the shape of a double horseshoe and is built of Baccarat crystal, brass and mahogany
The famous Crystal Staircase in the heart of the Dolmabahçe Palace (Dolmabahçe Sarayı) has the shape of a double horseshoe and is built of Baccarat crystal, brass and mahogany
The famous Crystal Staircase in the heart of the Dolmabahçe Palace (Dolmabahçe Sarayı) has the shape of a double horseshoe and is built of Baccarat crystal, brass and mahogany
The famous Crystal Staircase in the heart of the Dolmabahçe Palace (Dolmabahçe Sarayı) has the shape of a double horseshoe and is built of Baccarat crystal, brass and mahogany
Dolmabahçe Palace
Dolmabahçe Palace
Gate to the Dolmabahçe Palace
Altar in the cathedral Saint Salvator and Boniface of Fulda. Prince abbot Adalbert von Schleifras assigned the planning of a new cathedral to Johann Dientzenhofer. The old Ratgarbasilica (formery the largest basilica north of the Alps) was taken down before construction of the new building began in 1704. Parts of the foundations of the old church were used again. The baroque masterpiece was consecrated on August 15, 1712.
Central dome of the cathedral Saint Salvator and Boniface of Fulda
Altar in the cathedral Saint Salvator and Boniface of Fulda
Schönbrunn Palace was summer residence of the imperial family until 1912
Schönbrunn Palace
The Gloriette at the top of the hill behind the palace
Schönbrunn Palace, as seen from the gardens
Gloriette in Park Schönbrunn
Park Schönbrunn
Park Schönbrunn
Grand Place
Grand Place
Santa Maria Maggiore seen from Piazza dell'Esquilino
St. Peter's Square is surrounded by an elliptical colonnade with two pairs of Doric columns which form its breadth, each bearing Ionic entablatures. The colonnade wraps around the square, embracing the faithful in "the motherly arms of the church"
Central aisle of St. Peter's Basilica
Arches above the right aisle of St. Peter's Basilica
Over the main altar of St. Peter's Basilica stands a 30 metres (98 ft) tall baldachin held by four immense pillars, all designed by Bernini between 1624 and 1632. The baldachin was built to fill the space beneath the cupola, and it is said that the bronze used to make it was taken from the Pantheon.
View from the right transept of St. Peter's Basilica to the main entrance. Above you can the arches of the central nave.
Left aisle of St. Peter's Basilica
One of the smaller domes of the left aisle of St. Peter's Basilica
Baroque nave of the church Obere Pfarre
Old Town Hall
Old Town Hall in Bamberg
Coat of arms above the main portal of Weissenstein Palace
The palatial country house Schloss Weissenstein in Pommersfelden in Bavaria was designed for Lothar Franz von Schönborn, Prince-Bishop of Bamberg and Archbishop of Mainz, to designs by Johann Dientzenhofer and Johann Lukas von Hildebrandt.
Schloss Weißenstein
Statue on the roof of Schloss Weißenstein
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